Science Speaks is live-blogging from IDWEEK 2013. Meeting in San Francisco from Oct. 2-6, with the theme “Advancing Science, Improving Care,” the conference features breaking scientific advances and approaches in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiology of infectious diseases, including HIV and TB.

Save the date: Stakeholders meeting on PMDT Scale−up: Old problems, new solutions, 27-28 October 2013, Paris, France

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Pyrazinamide is safe in elderly patients >80 years old not experiencing malnourishment, low-grade ADL, and previously elevated liver enzymes, as presented by Ryutaro Tanizaki, MD, from the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan at IDWeek 2013.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The completion rate of a 12-dose, 3-month isoniazid/rifapentine (3HP) regimen in this study (83.7%) is comparable to its completion rate in Study 26 (82.1%), and is significantly higher than the average 55.0% completion rate for the 9-month isoniazid regimen that was reported in Arkansas for the past 5 years, according to results presented at IDWeek 2013.

LONDON, 2 October 2013 (IRIN) - One of the biggest hurdles to stemming the global tide of counterfeit medicines is disagreement over the term itself, which drug companies are accused of hijacking for commercial rather than public health reasons.

EXPOSED: The Race Against Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) has remained a major public health problem, responsible for the leading cause of hospital admissions across public and private health institution in Nigeria. With TB remaining a leading cause of death in adults, especially among the productive age group, Nigeria ranks 10th among the 22 High Burden Countries (HBCs), contributing 80 percent of the estimated 8.7 million new TB cases recorded in 2012 globally.

ALLAHABAD: Not a single private nursing homes or clinics, out of 217 registered ones, had submitted the declaration of not diagnosing or treating TB cases and health establishment registration form with the district tuberculosis office till date.

Tsukuba, Japan, Oct 3, 2013 – More than a century after the identification of organisms that cause tuberculosis (TB), this disease remains a global public health challenge. According to World Health Organization estimates, there were 8.7 million new cases in 2011 and 1.4 million deaths. Most new cases occur in developing countries that lack the facilities and trained personnel required for early detection of TB.

On sidelines of APEC Summit, US may propose differential treatment for some countries, which still blocks access to medicines for millions